The Great War: Silence
Silence In the final period of the Great War, most of civilized Eirethune was silent, but the true work was to silence the rest of it. Hunting down Thang-Gwr and his remaining Ûr forces in the south, and removing any remaining Gate Artifice that the Ûr could use to invade was now the primary mission. No Solace, Eradication and Revenge Thang-Gwr still led a force of Ûr in the Adzdor Peaks, but his only goal at this point was to return north to the steppes. The forces of Aden Shahn, Teldor, Bavarin, Udbotsi and the Southland were at his heels and were not going to give him any leeway. Rituals were performed by the western armies, but they could not find the Ûr army. Trackers were sent out, scouring the Adzdor Peaks, but there was no trace. Finally, the scouts were sent ahead, across the Wedyn Wood north of the Cymydog and into the Wedyn Hills. A few of the scouts went further east, over the Dechrau Mountains and into the Valley Tadrone. It was here they found signs of the army’s passing near the shores of the lake. It wasn’t much of a trace, but it was clear that the army was being hidden from vision and track for the most part, except for some disruptions that occurred along the water’s edge of Tadrone Lake. With that, the armies of the south were on the move north. The word went out in Balmorien and all over Eirethune to try and intercept Thang-Gwr’s force at all costs. Recon groups flooded the Wedyn Hills to find them, and little by little tell-tale traces of the army movement was becoming clearer. Finally, when the tracking force was finally sure of where the army was going to be, the west struck at Thang-Gwr, conjuring multi-dimensional creatures to attack them and force them out into the open. In the hills between Poznot and Harnak, the army was unveiled and the army of the west pounced upon them as quickly as they could, seeking to destroy as many as they could before Thang-Gwr could find a way to hide again. Many of the Ûr were destroyed, many of their minions were wiped out, but yet again, Thang-Gwr was able to slip most of his army into some sort of undetectable state, again requiring as much divination, true sight and tracking as could be mustered to seek out the remnants of his army. The reconnaissance spread out even further than before. There were more armies present, more capabilities, more desire to finally find Thang-Gwr and end his capability of invasion. Yet nothing was found anywhere near the Wedyn Hills or Dechrau Mountains this time. Nothing in the Minta Forest. Nothing in the Thearth or Roane plains. As far as anyone could tell there was nothing to be found of the Ûr army. Fortunately, again the armies were lucky in finding something out of line. A hunter from Dregnak had been out in the Hoff Hills, far to the north of the last known position of the Ûr army. Here the hunter saw three men whom he did not recognize holding large rings, approximately 10’ in diameter. One ring was of wood, another metal and the last of glass. When they held the rings upright in parallel, a brief shimmer of light, almost like a heat distortion, appeared between the rings. And in the distortion, again for a brief moment, the hunter saw the brief form of a few creatures running. The three men held the rings upright for a minute or two, and then they headed further north through the mountains; moving quicker than any man should be able, but yet they did, while carrying 10’ rings. 1 The hunter ran as quickly as possible to the closest village and the word was sent south. The western armies force marched north, as fast as possible. Fortunately, King Joachim and the forces that were at the Battle of the Voids were still just north of Bad Ozen in the steppes, and were ready to respond. King Joachim raced to the north, mustering everyone he could, which included the dwarves from Kharin Dûn, who in turn called upon the Dag Dwarven Deep and Vendratti forces. In the space between the two great keep complexes, near the ruins of Thab Nardiak, King Joachim spread out and searched. Here amidst the open steppes, it was easier to see and find people helping out the army, and here they would see them. Here, in the steppes, was a large series of gates being raised on the far side of Thab Nardiak, and out stepped the remnants of Thang-Gwr’s army. The western forces gathered and attacked the army forming on the other side of the gates. “''Let them all come through so we never have to seek them again''.” The Ûr came through and when they last seemed to have finally arrived, King Joachim and the armies attacked. The west hoped this would be the last battle, and it almost would be. The Ûr army was still hardened and strong, though so few in numbers. They protected their core elite troops until they fell and then the core elite protected the core arcane. All the while the army moved further to the north and west, to the coldest and deepest part of the steppes. The last moments of the Ûr army were frightful but dedicated, all the while looking for enough moments, for enough time to seek solace, yet it would never come. The western forces from Kazden Dûn were upon them. The clan riders of Rhorden were upon them. The giants of Frostmark were upon them. Nothing could help the Ûr in their defense. There were Night and Ice giants coming to help, even small numbers of clan riders from the east…yet nothing could stop the nations of the south from ending the existential threat that Thang-Gwr and his core arcana posed to them. While they pushed the Ûr on, almost anti-climatically, their last Gate Artifice was discovered. While they pushed on, another Void Gate was created to suck the last demonic forms and a few Night Giants away. The time of the Ûr threat was coming to a close. Finally, at a point a hundred miles north of Kazden Dûn, the last of the Ûr were surrounded and being pressed into a singularity, that which was Thang-Gwr. Depending on who you believe, someone was responsible for the killing blow of Thang-Gwr. Some believed it was Dan Thûn, a high-elf who cast a necrotic bolt into him. Others definitely saw Gogin Ray, the stockiest dwarf you had ever seen, cleave Thang-Gwr into two and then two again. Bodj, the Hill Giant definitely stamped on Thang-Gwr, leaving nothing but bile behind. Even the swift rapier of the clever halfling of the Southland, Danner Wellgroomed, was responsible for the killing. Regardless, the body of the beast who had killed the Houses of Raj Gohn, who had ravaged and crucified so many people of the civilized world, it was broken, and torn and lifeless. So ended the Battle of the Final Revenge, and so ended the Great War. Disembodiment After the Battle of the Final Revenge, there was a sense that the rain of destruction that finally destroyed Thang-Gwr caused his body to completely be destroyed. Given the level of commitment at the final end, it was a sensible belief. However, it bothered several of the leaders that something might have happened besides his death, because there were several small groups of elite blood guards that moved in separate directions and disappeared immediately after the demise of Thang-Gwr, the arch mage, had obviously suffered. Why was there certainty in his death and destruction, truly before their eyes, when they could also see that something was going on that would keep them guessing as to whether they could trust their own senses. A rumor came much later that Thang-Gwr was seen in Icereach. Giants and dwarves sought out this rumor and found nothing other than the evil that already existed there. Perhaps there was nothing to worry about any longer. Perhaps all that they had seen was true. Perhaps they would not have fear from the north again. Perhaps. Links Chronology of Eirethune Previous, The Great War: Return Next, Third Age: The Great Peace Notes 1 Much research was done about the 3 rings that the Ur army used to deliver them to the steppes. It was believed that these rings provided the ability to open an interdimensional transportation portal, a bridge support between the planes, permitting any number of beings to travel quickly and freely between the planes without any direct visibility to either. Experiments were done with the gate circles that were left after the ''Battle of Eradication ''in the guild temple at Aachnarn, and to this day, the results of the experiments remain there.